Legal Planet

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

The decision at the Glasgow climate conference to phase down fossil fuels is an important step forward — and not just because of climate change. We think of fossil fuels as a source of climate change, but that’s only a one part of the problem. Fossil fuels are a case in point. Consider coal.

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Fossil Fuels Carbon Dioxide Clean Water Act Climate Change 221

Legal Planet

AUGUST 18, 2022

Production and combustion of fossil fuels imposes enormous costs on society, which the industry doesn’t pay for. A more promising alternative might be a clean-up tax on the fossil fuel industry. It wouldn’t require placing bets on what zero carbon technologies will win out. Download as PDF.

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Fossil Fuels Carbon Dioxide Politics Air Pollution 242

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Earlier this year, The Guardian ran a powerful article exposing the ties of Elsevier, one of the world’s largest academic publishing companies, to the fossil fuel industry. The article caught my attention because I’d never considered the ways in which an academic publisher might be perpetuating and enabling a fossil fuel economy.

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Yale E360

JANUARY 27, 2023

Solar, wind, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies saw a record-high $1.1 trillion in investment globally last year, matching investment in fossil fuels for the first time ever, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Read more on E360 →

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Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 2022 Electricity 249

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 27, 2023

Fossil fuel power plant owners are facing increased accountability for their air and water pollution, including from a new round of environmental and public health protections that are being rolled out by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We’ve heard these lazily disingenuous narratives before.

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Fossil Fuels Electricity 2014 Climate Change 217

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 12, 2023

The same scenario has played out with the power plants that use fossil fuels, predominantly methane (“natural”) gas, delivered by pipelines. At the same time, extreme weather events are becoming more common as more fossil fuel is burned and carbon is released into the air. It’s a vicious feedback loop.

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Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Electricity Regulations 189

Legal Planet

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

This being Black History Month, I thought it would be worthwhile looking at the fossil fuel industry’s racial history. But coal ended up in the same place as oil, because Jim Crow left Black workers the most vulnerable to technological change. Those bottom rungs were decimated by new technology. Oil and gas.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology Government 233

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 23, 2023

And fossil fuel power plants may not stick to their retirement schedules for a variety of reasons. The bottom line: There’s still a long way to go, and the clean energy transition must move quicker than it has been—despite the fossil fuel industry’s self-serving claims to the contrary. A bit more on those reasons later.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 24, 2023

Utilities and grid operators prepared for the storm as it was coming down the pike, but they still underestimated the energy demand it would trigger, as well as the number of outages at fossil fuel power plants—mainly natural gas-fired, plus some coal-fired plants. See my colleague Julie McNamara’s blog for caveats about hydrogen.)

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Fossil Fuels 2014 Climate Change Electricity 222

Enviromental Defense

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Earlier this month at COP28 countries committed to transitioning off of fossil fuels and massively scaling up renewable energy instead. So you’re excused if, like me, you’re baffled by Minister Freeland’s first move in the wake of COP28: a giant new fossil fuel subsidy, via the new Canada Growth Fund.

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Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Clean Energy Solar Power 142

Enviromental Defense

MARCH 27, 2024

New analysis from Environmental Defence reveals that despite federal government promises, funding to the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries remains high Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – New analysis released today by Environmental Defence reveals Canada’s federal government provided at least $18.6

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Fossil Fuels Government Renewable Energy 2028 145

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 13, 2022

I was invited to speak at a panel discussion last Wednesday as part of The Economist ’s annual Sustainability Week, titled “What technologies are needed to avert a climate disaster?” True to the theme, I was asked about which technological innovations would be necessary to save our planet. And yet, we aren’t.

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Technology Technology Climate Change Fossil Fuels 235

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 21, 2023

While industry tried to paint hydrogen combustion engines as a “bridge” technology to hydrogen fuel cells, their own presentations undermined that very point—instead, this path is a clear dead end. We need to make sure regulators like EPA and CARB restrict its usage before it gains a fossil-fueled foothold in the marketplace.

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Technology Technology Fossil Fuels Electricity 274

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 15, 2024

After the hottest summer on record, the world continues to witness extreme weather fueled by the burning of fossil fuels. We need to stop burning fossil fuels immediately. Thankfully, we are in the midst of a much-needed transition away from fossil fuels and towards a future powered by more renewables.

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Clean Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Electricity 281

A Greener Life

MARCH 3, 2024

By Anders Lorenzen Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest man and the founder and CEO of Ineos , the petrochemical giant, who perversely pays little UK tax as he resides in the tax haven of Monaco, has won UK government backing from a giant fossil fuel project which campaigners have labelled as climate wrecking.

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Fossil Fuels Government Technology Technology 105

Environment, Law, and History

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

Dan Farber recently posted at Legal Planet on "Jim Crow and the Fossil Fuel Industry" : This being Black History Month, I thought it would be worthwhile looking at the fossil fuel industry’s racial history. Those bottom rungs were decimated by new technology. Blacks were nearly excluded from the industry.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology 97

A Greener Life

JULY 7, 2021

New research from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) confirms renewables are continuing to outpace fossil fuels on cost. They found that the share of renewable energy that achieved lower costs than the most competitive fossil fuel option doubled in 2020. C climate pathway.

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Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy 2010 2020 98

Edouard Stenger

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Figures would prove them wrong : solar, wind and other technologies would soar higher and higher. This is exactly what is taking place with solar, electric vehicles, heat pumps and similar technologies. As a result, the IEA believes that “We are on track to see all fossil fuels peak before 2030” , and even much sooner.

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Fossil Fuels 2030 Electricity Technology 52

Yale E360

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Farmers in hot, arid regions are turning to low-cost solar pumps to irrigate their fields, eliminating the need for expensive fossil fuels and boosting crop production. But by allowing them to pump throughout the day, the new technology is drying up aquifers around the globe. Read more on E360 →

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New Scientist

AUGUST 16, 2021

Production of hydrogen from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage has been given the UK government’s backing, despite concerns that the technology does not capture all CO2 emissions, remains unproven commercially and perpetuates natural gas extraction

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Fossil Fuels Natural Gas Technology Technology 113

Enviromental Defense

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Joining an ever growing list of countries from around the world, Canada pledged to end public financing for overseas fossil-fuel projects in 2022 and instead prioritize the clean energy transition. This sends an important signal to investors and people around the world that the sun is setting on fossil fuels.

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Enviromental Defense

MARCH 31, 2022

A new report released today by Environmental Defence – Buyer Beware: Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Carbon Capture Fairy Tales in Canada – reveals that despite promises to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, the federal government provided the fossil fuel sector with at least $8.6 billion in 2021. .

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Fossil Fuels Government Renewable Energy Atmosphere 98

Environmental News Bits

JULY 19, 2023

More than 1,500 lobbyists in the US are working on behalf of fossil-fuel companies while at the same time representing hundreds of liberal-run cities, universities, technology companies and environmental groups that say they are tackling the climate crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology 75

New Scientist

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

In his new book, Power Metal, journalist Vince Beiser provides a balanced briefing on the race for the resources that will shape our technological future

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Environmental News Bits

MARCH 23, 2022

Universities must stop accepting funding from fossil fuel companies to conduct climate research, even if the research is aimed at developing green and low-carbon technology, an influential group of distinguished academics has said. Read the full story from The Guardian.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology Climate Change 81

Environmental News Bits

APRIL 22, 2022

Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is investing $2.4 million in three projects that are exploring the potential of energy storage technologies to shrink the carbon footprint of existing fossil fuel plants.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology 81

Environmental News Bits

APRIL 4, 2022

Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is investing $2.4 million in three projects that are exploring the potential of energy storage technologies to shrink the carbon footprint of existing fossil fuel plants.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology 81

A Greener Life

JUNE 14, 2023

By Anders Lorenzen In recent years, a series of large and small fossil fuel companies have publicly signalled net-zero commitments while continuing business-as-usual investments in fossil fuels. Around 75 out of 112 of the largest fossil fuel companies have committed themselves to reach net-zero.

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Scientific American

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology Climate Change 141

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. It also will save US consumers money because they will spend less on fossil fuels.

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Environmental News Bits

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Yet a battle is playing out to add even more, fueled by new government incentives for a technology that fossil fuel companies want us to believe will neutralize the harms of their dirty energy projects: carbon … Continue reading Carbon capture is giving a second life to fossil fuels – but it doesn’t have to

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Yale E360

JUNE 7, 2022

Some analysts see the technology as a necessary tool in reducing emissions, but others say it simply perpetuates the burning of fossil fuels. Long discussed but rarely used, carbon capture and storage projects — which bury waste CO2 underground — are on the rise globally. Read more on E360 ?.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 13, 2024

Paul Arbaje is an energy analyst in the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an expert on electricity policies and reforms that reduce fossil fuel use and reliance. The energy enthusiast who owns their own homes can take further steps toward making their homes completely free of direct fossil fuel use.

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Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Electricity Climate Change 218

Scientific American

JUNE 1, 2023

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology Climate Change 95

Environmental News Bits

MARCH 6, 2024

Newly discovered documents confirm that the petroleum and automobile industries funded the early climate science of Charles David Keeling at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) from 1954 to 1956. The … Continue reading Fossil fuel industry was aware of climate threats as early as 1954, new documents reveal

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Environment + Energy Leader

JANUARY 6, 2023

On January 11, Jessica Hunt will sit down with Mr. Sakellaris for a discussion on why today’s technology and market dynamics make us uniquely positioned for a turning point from a reliance on fossil fuels and how we can accelerate the transition to alternate energy sources.

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Fossil Fuels Technology Technology Clean Energy 263

Yale E360

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

climate plan is historic and will pump billions of dollars into advancing the transition away from fossil fuels. But a more far-reaching, innovative approach is needed to push forward the radically new technologies that will be required to decarbonize the economy. The new U.S. Read more on E360 ?.

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